Subtitles

XBMC supports both stand-alone subtitle and embedded subtitles. Most major subtitle formats are supported. XBMC can also search and download subtitles directly from full screen playback.

Contents 1 Changing subtitle settings during playback 2 Additional settings 2.1 Main settings 2.2 Default language selection 3 External subtitle files 3.1 Compressed subtitles 4 Using multi language subtitles 5 Adjusting subtitles position 6 Adding fonts

1 Changing subtitle settings during playback

Various subtitle settings can be changed or they turned On/Off (default is on) via the OSD (On Screen Display) while watching a movie by selecting the Audio options (not the subtitle downloader option).

There is no global ON/OFF setting for subtitles, as this setting is stored on a per-video basis, but you can quickly set the setting on all videos by manually changing it using the OSD, then hitting "Set as default for all videos".

Volume

Allows you to adjust the playback volume

Volume Amplification (Dynamic Range Compression)

Allows you to adjust how much the audio range is compressed, making the loud and soft sounds closer in volume. This is useful when watching movies with loud sound effects such as explosions at night.

Audio Offset

Adjusts how long that the audio is delayed in relation to the video. This is useful when viewing poorly synced videos.

Audio Stream

If the video file contains more than one audio stream you can select them here.

• As of v12 Frodo, XBMC will auto select audio language based on your global settings. See: Settings/Appearance#International.

Output stereo to all speakers

Outputs stereo to all speakers?

Audio output

Select output device for the current stream ?

Enable Subtitles

Enable or disables subtitles. Subtitle tracks with the "forced" flag are unaffected by this and should always display.

Subtitle Offset

Adjusts how long that the subtitles are delayed in relation to the video

Subtitle

Allows you select which subtitles are displayed

• As of v12, XBMC will auto select subtitle language based on your global settings. Also - Set as default for all Movies is now Set as default for all Videos. See: Settings/Appearance#International.

Browse for Subtitle

Allows you to browse the filesystem for the file used to display the subtitles

Set as default for all videos

Selecting this will make the current settings the default

2 Additional settings

2.1 Main settings

 Settings -> Videos -> Subtitles 

Lets you change how XBMC renders subtitles (not including DVD subtitles) Font Size Style Colour Character set Subtitle folder Set a custom directory for your subtitles. This can be an smb share. Subtitle location Location of subtitles on the screen. Options are: Fixed position (default), above video*, top of video, below video* and bottom of video. * above and below video: when you view a movie and it doesn't fill the screen and has black bars at the top and bottom; XBMC can place the subtitles there.

2.2 Default language selection

 Settings -> Appearance -> International 

Preferred Audio Language

Sets the default audio track when different language tracks are available.

Preferred Subtitle Language

Sets the default subtitles when different languages are available.

3 External subtitle files

To use stand-alone subtitle files with video files, put them in the same folder as the video file or alternatively go to the Subtitles Settings and set a Custom Subtitle Directory. You can also choose to manually browse for the subtitle file via the OSD (On Screen Display) Audio and Subtitle Settings. You can configure the way that they are displayed through the Subtitles Settings, and you can adjust where they are displayed onscreen through the Video Calibration Screen.

The subtitle and video files must have the same name, for example:

 Video File: The Matrix.avi
 Subtitle: The Matrix.srt

3.1 Compressed subtitles

XBMC also supports compressed VobSub subtitles. Please note that the subtitles inside the RAR archive still need to have the same name as the video file.

 Video File: The Matrix.avi
 Subtitle: The Matrix.rar 

Where The Matrix.rar containins the VobSub-file The Matrix.sub and the The Matrix.idx VobSub index-file that has been compressed with RAR. If you want XBMC to automatically turn on packed subtitles, you have to turn on the Search for Subtitles in RARs option in Subtitles Settings.

4 Using multi language subtitles

XBMC supports the use of more than one external subtitle. This of course is most useful when you have more than one subtitle file, (eg. for more than language).

To use this functionality you need to rename the video file and subtitle files as follows:

 Video File: The Matrix.avi
 Subtitle 1: The Matrix.English.srt
 Subtitle 2: The Matrix.French.srt
 Subtitle 3: The Matrix.German.srt

The dot after the filename but before the extension specifies the language (you can use anything here, mix numbers and and letters or just use one or the other).

You can even mix subtitle formats, eg:

 Video File: Movie Name (2006).avi
 Subtitle 1: Movie Name (2006).Chinese.idx
 Subtitle 1: Movie Name (2006).Chinese.sub
 Subtitle 2: Movie Name (2006).Japanese.idx
 Subtitle 2: Movie Name (2006).Japanese.sub
 Subtitle 3: Movie Name (2006).English.srt
 Subtitle 4: Movie Name (2006).French.smi
 Subtitle 5: Movie Name (2006).German.ssa

5 Adjusting subtitles position

The position of the subtitles can be adjusted vertically (but not horizontally) in the Video Calibration screen, you can also configure the way that they are displayed though the Subtitles Settings.
Note: This does not apply to DVD subtitles as the DVD itself defines their location.

6 Adding fonts

Additional fonts can be stored in the XBMC folder (one level below userdata) at XBMC/media/Fonts/